A member of the New Black Panther Party who sparked a federal probe for voter intimidation in 2008 has been arrested on gun charges in New York.King Samir Shabazz, a 41-year-old Philadelphia street preacher and national field marshal for the New Black Panther Party, was arrested late Thursday in Harlem after NYPD officers spotted him with wearing a bulletproof vest and a loaded, unlicensed handgun.

Now, I'll admit. It's tempting to chuckle and laugh at Shabazz, and think that he's getting what he deserves. In a way, he is - you ignore the gun laws of your location at great peril to your own freedom; even more so when going to an area known to be actively hostile to guns and gun owners.This is little different than the guy who gets bagged bringing a pistol along for his stay in New York City - if you're staying somewhere outside of your own state, the onus is on you to comply with all gun laws.

With that said, though, this is a complete and utter farce. Shabazz was stopped for "wearing a bulletproof vest"? It was under his clothing - are the NYPD now using special "bulletproof vest detecting rays" now? On what grounds did they have to search him? I mean, other than he was black, of course - there's that whole "stop and frisk" program they have going on there in NYC.

Well, DaddyBear, I'll put up. This is bulls**t, plain and simple. While I agree that we shouldn't need a slip of paper to exercise our enumerated right, the fact is that we do, and that Mr. Shabazz armed himself in NY at his own freedom's peril. He's facing some serious trouble - felony charges and up to 15 years in jail - for not obeying the laws of the locality. "I didn't know it was wrong" is a lousy excuse - it doesn't work for my kids; it shouldn't work for a grown man.

BUT...

That he was stopped and frisked in the first place is also bulls**t. The NYPD had no cause to stop him, let alone frisk him; without the felony stop - for, what? standing there? - they wouldn't have found the revolver he was carrying. Had he been showing it off, or carrying it openly, that's a different story; however the fact remains that the gun was discovered only after an illegal and unconstitutional search. I hope he gets a nice settlement from the NYPD.

Now, if he had been passing through NY and the handgun had been unloaded and in a locked case, as required by FOPA? Oh, you better believe I'd be screaming for his release - because that is obeying the law.

In fact, I'm probably harder on the law abiding folks than most, because the onus is on you as the law-abiding citizen to follow state laws where you are visiting. If you don't know that the state of New York has tougher gun laws than, say, TX, TN, or FL? Well, you should have done your homework whether you were going to NY, NH, or AZ.

I think it is a fair cop. In June in NYC most men would be wearing just a shirt to beat the heat. A vest would 'print through' and be plainly visible and highly unusual. Since wearing body armour in itself is a crime then the stop was justified. If he was wearing a parka in winter it would be the opposite story.

Bravo, Jay, for your sticking to your "guns". I had a good chuckle myself, but your were right to call me on it. Freedom is for everyone. What makes freedom tough is that the bad laws that need opposing are generally targeted against assholes that one would not want to associate with socially.

There have been a LOT of articles written in the last few years about how cops can spot someone who is carrying concealed even if the firearm IS, in fact, concealed. That may be one reason he was stopped.

That said... it's illegal to wear a bulletproof vest in NY? Good grief.

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Open Invitation for New Shooters

Just want to extend an open invitation to all potential new shooters in the Northern Virginia area. If you have never shot a firearm, or would like to get back into the shooting sports, or are an accomplished shooter who'd like to try something in my arsenal, give me a shout.

New shooters get range time, targets, gun use and ammo on me. I've even got extra eye and ear protection - all you have to do is show up.